Boom! Studios has partnered with WWE Studios to create a
comic book that delivers an extra added experience for pro wrestling fans, offering
up stories that cover all of the WWE eras and superstars. It lends an
opportunity to both further well known storylines as well provide outlandish tales
and scenarios that wouldn’t be feasible on television. The comic series has
been gradually introduced, with one-page comics offered at SDCC 2016 and now
this special 48 page one-shot edition. This special issue contains four
individual stories written and drawn by different individuals, along with all
of the SDCC one-page comics. It has three separate interlocking covers with art
by Dan Mora available, as well as several limited variant covers.

The first story is “The Breaking of the Shield” and was
written by Dennis Hopeless, illustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Doug Garbank,
and lettered by Jim Campbell, which will be continued in issue #1 in January
2017. This features the actual storyline that involved Seth Rollins turning
heel and the Shield disbanding. This story is pretty realistic but just
embellishes it somewhat in order to have it contain the typical comic book action
sequences and some added humor. Mora’s drawings are simple yet effective. They
are simple in that there aren’t dark shadows or heavy line work, allowing the
color created by Garbank to stand out. Mora’s drawings are perfect for this story;
they are realistic representations of each wrestler which is needed for
something that is a little serious. Dean Ambrose is the comic relief and they
really let him be the ‘lunatic fringe,” outshining the other characters.

The second story is “The New Day’s Optimistic Odyssey- Part
1” and was written by Ross Thibodeaux, illustrated by Rob Guillory, colored by
Taylor Wells, and lettered by Jim Campbell. This is a totally outlandish and
cartoonish yarn involving The New Day running a summer camp and just pushes
their typical antics even more. It is a highly comical and involves Booty O’s
cereal, child versions of WWE wrestlers, unicorns, time travel, dinosaurs, and
of course Ric Flair (insert “WOO” here). The only thing bad about this fun
journey is that it will be continued in issue #1 in January 2017. Other than
that, this is simply perfection. The writing is humorous and Guillory’s art
nicely matches the scenario, with the characters looking slightly more
cartoonish and having overly expressive facial gestures and movements.

The third story is “Then. Now. Forever.” It was written and
illustrated by Rob Schamberger and was lettered by Jim Campbell. It is about
how Sasha Banks fandom and passion for wrestling as a child led to her becoming
a WWE performer. It’s a touching tale that typifies many wrestlers back
stories, with their fandom leading to something more than just watching. The
art is very good and features a watercolor style and painterly approach that is
atypical of most comics.

The fourth story is “Tug Team” and was illustrated by Derek
Fridolfs, colored by Fred Stresing, and lettered by Jim Campbell. It is a
Popeye style comic that involves the 1980’s and early 1990’s wrestler called Tugboat.
It’s two pages long and looks and feels like a modern twist on Popeye.
Hopefully, there will be more of this series.

Finally, there are the SDCC one-page comics that were
illustrated by Daniel Bayliss, colored by Doug Garbark, and lettered by Jim Campbell.
They all showcases major moments in each wrestlers career and include Stone
Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, The New Day, Sasha Banks, The
Undertaker, and Dusty Rhodes.

Overall, this was an enjoyable issue and there is cast
amount to look forward to regarding this comic. If they can continue to offer
up several different stories and artistic styles with each issue, fans will
definitely be interested in continuing to read this. I highly recommend that
any WWE fan give this comic at least one chance.